The importance of client satisfaction

Here at Cornerstone, we have always been keen to find out how our mentees are getting on. Some have established businesses facing challenges they needed some support to meet, others aren’t even formally a business at all, just an idea. Some have made a start, but are finding planning and finance difficult, others are looking to expand but are fearful of the potential consequences. Our mentors are ready to help in all sorts of situations, including marketing, business planning and simple advice as to feasibility. Success is not always marked by a business up and running, but by advice taken, preventing a costly error; so it is important to make sure customer satisfaction is high.

So we have just developed a survey, using the free tools available via SurveyMonkey, to assess where many of those we have had contact with over the years are now. Inevitably, we lose touch with some clients when they don’t need our help anymore, or when they decide self-employment and/or owning a business are not for them. However, to make sure we are ‘getting it right’ it is important to know how well we are doing, and the impact we have. It is also great to find out if there are other ways in which we can help, or gaps in the market we, as a volunteer, free service can help fill.

So, how often do you check that your customers are satisfied? Have you ever asked them face to face, or offered them the opportunity to respond to an email giving their thoughts? Asking for testimonials or references is another way to get client feedback (we have some on our website) and they can be used (with permission of course) as a way to encourage others to give you and your business a try.

Take some time to think about client satisfaction, and let us know what tools you use to make sure you are providing the service your customers expect. We are really interested in your thoughts, and will, of course, let you know how our survey goes!